Pictures of Recent Happenings

YEA Christmas!
Not really sure what's going on here to be honest

Christmas party fun! Thank you Josh for this adorable picture
Brett making his entrance to the Christmas party of awesomeness!
Natalie upon entering the BEST Christmas party EVER!!
Brian upon entering...I think you get it: )

ZRPBC youth singing Christmas carols and hymms at the local mall.
Good way to start out the season I believe.


And as a way of concluding, MERRY CHRISTMAS to all. We love at Kitchen Talk love you.

In memory of....

MY EARRINGS!!!!

You experience the world with me
tis very very true
and when my ear is naked
I am very very blue

Please find your way back to me
as soon as you can
my ears are very lonely
and I am very sad.



Death: November 24, 2006. Cause: Eaten by very potent contact solution.

Brother Willow

Weeping willow,
Can I join thee?
Weeping ever so silently.
Let me lay myself beneath thee,
Let me let they tears engulf me.
I don’t desire any other company.
Just thy tears,
And my melancholy.

In Honor of November...Please see the Beehive for a further explanation

Stationary Technology


You have reached Retailing, Inc!
A proud tradition of retailing!

We now have an automatic voice
recognizing machine! Please say your...

Don't you mean "we can't understand a
thing you say" machine?

...request from the following options.
Marketing!
Sales!
Support!

Peppy. Way too peppy.
Mar-kuh-ting.

I'm sorry. I did not
understand...

You. It doesn't
understand you.

...your request.
Please select

Hmm...perhaps...
Mar-kit-ing

I'm sorry. I did not
understand...

Cheese-bur-ger.
Milk-shake.
Anything - please send me to
the operator.
Pound key.
Star key.

I'm sorry!
It seems you are having
trouble!

Don't apologize. Put me
through to a pers-

Please hold while we
transfer your call!

Yes, finally. Okay, I need
some brochures.

Sure! That will be no
problem...

A new record! That only
took 15 minutes!

...Please hold while I
transfer you to that
department!

Still no brochures.
And Peppy. Still peppy.
And background music that starts
at the exact same spot every time.

I'm sorry! This department
has closed for the day!
Please say or press 0 for...

Thought

Sometimes my efforts seem futile.

Are you kidding me?

While taking lunch at work, I'll occasionally look at the news headlines for the day at msn.com. This one definitely caught my eye:

IT'S SNOW JOKE: SAN DIEGAN TRAINS IN FREEZER FOR ANTARCTIC ULTRA MARATHON

These days, I can maybe, maybe run a mile. Much less a half marathon. But, I do have a lot of respect for people that are blessed to run. And for this guy, Mike Pierce, well, maybe intrigued is the best word. Because he's going to Antarctica to run more than a marathon. To be precise, he's running 62.1 miles. In Antarctica.

Now to prepare, and this also caught my eye, he's running in a 60 x 40 freezer, with most of his gear on. (Kinda sounds like an advertisement for L.L. Bean or Land's End as you read about his different layers of clothing.) The freezer stays at about -5 degrees. I always enjoyed running in cooler weather. Something about the way the wind hits you right in the lungs, and you can feel the crisp air. But, I am in no hurry to try out -5 conditions.

Pierce said that last year there was a total of 9 runners. And that simply to finish was like winning a medal because you had not only finished the run, but you had survived. Now that sounds like a competition.

The bear died a cruel death...

To mark the occasion of Table of Stone's 21st Birthday, Elyowenah and I conspired to throw a grand surprise party. We all kept the secret quite well. Many friends joined us, and we hid in the dark as Ely went to pick her up. They were supposed to go out, but, oops, "he forgot something." When she came through the door: SURPRISE!!!!



Her friends from Auburn came up, and quickly they conspired to (cue Darth Vadar theme music) KILL THE BEAR. Believe it or not, Publix makes a really great 3-d cake. Ely got a teddy bear cake with a Pharmacy coat on it. But life wasn't to be happy for this bear...


<

First, we set him on fire, while merrily singing happy birthday.



Then, we sliced him right in half. It was all downhill from there. His body sort of became a blob, which began to fall all over the place, moving in various and sundry ways - bending backwards, falling sideways. We tried to do emergency surgery, but he ended up disheveled. And besides, our emergency surgery was slowly giving way to multiple amputations.



All in all, the party was a blast, if I do say so myself. Happy 21st, dear Sis. You're pretty much awesome, ;-), and I love ya.

I love my family!

Ok, so mine and derrick's picture got posted twice. Whoops! But I really just wanted to show you these pictures because they make me happy when i look at them. We don't get to hang out as much as we would like these days, especially with derrick in tuscaloosa. So we went to an Alabama game. They weren't playing anybody real good so the game was not all that exciting but we had fun just hanging out. You may have noticed mine and Adam's face along with Laura and Derrick' s face in the last two pictures. These are our mad faces because two kids sitting behind us were being incredibly annoying! So anyways, enjoy the pictures.

P.S. no worries guys, while crimson is not a bad color on me, I will NOT be trading in my orange and blue anytime soon. : )

Some quotes...

"Growing old...that's earned." The Guardian

*Making a point that if you're older and have wrinkles, it means you've been blessed to enjoy the sun. If you're older and have achy, sore muscles, it means you've been blessed to work. Etc.

.

This past weekend I listened to a sermon titled "Being Salt and Light", preached by Dr. Tony Evans at a Promise Keepers conference (in 1995, I think). It was nice and fiery, and filled with lots of good quotes. For example:

"We don't need no secret agent Christians!"

"You are not a nurse. No, no, no. You are God's representative in the field of nursing. You are there to show people what God looks like when He cares for people. You are not a corporate executive. No, no, no. You are God's representative in the corporate world. You are there to show people what God looks like when He makes a deal." (Might be kinda paraphrased, but you get the point).

Anyways, just thought I'd share.

The Richest Americans

The Top 10:

1. William Henry Gates III
2. Warren Edward Buffett
3. Sheldon Adelson
4. Lawrence Joseph Ellison
5. Paul Gardner Allen
6. Jim C. Walton
7. Christy Walton & Family
8. S. Robson Walton
9. Michael Dell
10. Alice L. Walton

*Compliments of msn.com and Forbes magazine.

Just wanted to share, because I was personally fascinated that the Walton family took four of the top ten spots. FOUR!

Another fascinating point, most of the top ten were either computer/technological gurus, Wal-Mart associated, or casino/gambling top-dawgs.

Now, I think there are probably a few missing from this list...but that's a whole different subject.

Oh, and one other point, everyone on the Forbes 400 list this year, for the first time, had $1 billion or more. You aren't the richest of the rich anymore with $999,999,999.99. You've got to have $1,000,000,000.00

What are your thoughts?

The face I would have made...

(For Table)...we knew we needed pictures on here...so, we took this one. This is the face I would have made if I had had a camera with me when I tasted that hot sauce.

"Every man dies, not every man really lives"

I ended up today at Firehouse Subs for lunch. Normally wouldn't be there, because there isn't one really close to where I work, but I was on my way to take a test, so, I stopped in. They have really good sandwiches - my favorite is a medium Hook & Ladder with mayo and lettuce. Delicious!

Well, the reason it's called Firehouse Subs is because they have a ton of hot sauces to choose from. They are all on the counter, waiting to be tried. Now, until today, I have never tried one. But, someone I know was there with a friend, and he encouraged me to get a toothpick and try the one he had. I refused at first, but decided after a moment to "live life and be bold", so I stuck my toothpick in (while they chuckle, mind you) and placed it on my tongue.

ONE DROP. Barely even that.

At first, I was like, "Oh, that's not so bad." But then I swallowed. I'm sure my face turned beat red, not to mention my eyes getting watery and my sinuses clearing up immediately. It was insane, crazy, explosive, mind-blowingly HOT HOT HOT!!! I didn't really lose composure, but they did ask if I was alright. (As did one of the employees.) My mouth didn't cool down for at least 30-45 minutes.

I later looked at the bottle, and basically, this is what it said:

357 MAD DOG Hot SauceTM This killer sauce is packing 357,000 scoville units of heat. One hit will blow you away! We blend Chile extract, fresh Habanero peppers, 160,000 scoville super Cayenne peppers, garlic and onion to makes a sauce that can truly take your breath away. Mad Dog 357 is the hottest hot sauce ever made......any hotter and it can't be called a sauce!

Even one of the employees said, "Yeah, it's the hottest sauce."

I love trying things and doing something crazy every once in a while. Goodness, I just love life.

5 Years Ago

I still haven't forgotten.

I remember what I was wearing - a purple shirt and khaki pants. I remember what I was doing, where I was going, and how I first found out - I was on my way to school, slightly later in the morning, because I wasn't doing much of anything first block, sitting at the red light at Walston Bridge Road and 78 Hwy, listening to the radio. When they first said that an airplane had hit the World Trade Center, I thought, "That's terrible. What a horrible accident." Then, I went to the Counseling Center where I was an aide, and watched on the tv as a second plane hit the second tower, and I knew that something wasn't right. Two accidents within the hour?

The news just kept coming. A third plane headed for D.C. Then, the Pentagon. And, it wasn't just seeing the Pentagon. It was listening to a correspondent inside the Pentagon the moment the plane hit and hearing the sound.

And I'll never, never forget sitting there, watching on live t.v., as the two towers fell.

Watching the ads for the movies has given me chills and put tears in my eyes, thinking back on that day. It was real. Completely and utterly real. And, yet, America watched together. We stood together. We cried together. We gave blood, we cncouraged, and we hoped. My generation got a glimpse of America's backbone, if even for just a moment. And, with God's grace, it is strong.

We have been abundantly blessed as a nation. Let us not forget where these blessings come from. Let us not forget who we should look to for guidance.

And, today, as we remember, let us pray for the survivors, pray for the soldiers, pray for our leaders, pray for this nation. Let us pray.

September

I realize that written posts are not near as cool as seeing a picture and so I promise you that at some point Owl and I will post some pictures. We do in fact have color in our lives but no pictures today. I have not recently been able to take as many pictures as I would like. My own negligence really. My memory card in my camera is pretty much full and I have alot of pictures that I actually want to print out which is rare so they have to stay there until I find the time.

So life. Life is good. Just finished my second week of pharmacy school and with every day it is getting easier to get up and go. Last night I actually felt like I had gotten a full night of sleep. We are all getting to know each other better and have started hanging out some at night so that's good. My teachers are awesome..well for the most part. One of my teachers closes his eyes for very long periods of time while he teaches. Let me tell ya, makes you sleepy watchin him. Other than that I have taken a new interest in my chosen profession. To be honest, I wasn't sure (can you believe it) that pharmacy was for me. But we have started talking about the ingredients of drugs and their purpose and different dosage forms and how IV's work so i'm likin it.

Samford is cool. Let me tell you why I've now decided it's cool. Samford is a Baptist university so my teachers openly talk about God and encourage us to go to church on Sunday and to pray in class. We actually have a chaplain in our class to lead us in prayer before the week starts and before tests. Now I don't know how many of you go to a state university but that just doesn't happen there. So I like that, it's cool.

Now to conclude I must agree with Lady Godiva and say that Birmingham is NOW! By that I mean it's happenin, it's down, we got it goin on, etc. We have been having a blast hanging out at each other's apartments for lunch or for a movie. Not only that but we have been carpooling with each other back to Jasper for church or to other church meetings. So that is at least 2 hours for good laughs and chats about life.

So that's it, sorry if it's long. I'm gonna go bowling now.

My Favorite Office Items

#1. PAPERCLIP. Random Notes of Interest: The first paperclip was probably produced by the Gem-Manufacturing Company in Britain, thus where we derive the term "gem-clip". Most recently, the paperclip was made famous when a Canadian traded a red paperclip for a house (more or less).

I like the paperclip because it is so functional, and makes me so very organized at work. I can paperclip papers that need to go together, and then all those papers that are seperated can be collectively paperclipped. It's just a fascinating device. I've probably went through two or three boxes at work already.

#2. HIGHLIGHTER. I LOVE highlighters. If you look at any of my notes from school, this one thing you can tell. Everything deserves a color. For example, in history: dates could be green, people or important things could be yellow, and info in general could be purple. It had to be very unimportant in my mind to not get a color. Most recently I let someone borrow my condensed Series 7 notes. The whole "condensed" book was practically pink and yellow. Seem strange? I guess all I can say is that I remember better in color.

3. CALCULATOR. Our professor joked that we would be carrying these things around in our pockets. I thought, "Yeah, sure, okay." And, yet, I have been carrying a calculator in my purse for the last couple of months. Mostly for study purposes, but it is also good for the monthly balancing of the checkbook, etc. (And, I can whip it out and tell people "0.1134", a.k.a. "hello"). I also like to do random calculations. Yes, I'm a math nerd.

4. STICKY NOTE. These are so useful. Grocery lists. Reminders. Lots of reminders. I have reminders all over the bottom of my computer. Wee notes - the kind that don't need a whole sheet of overwhelming paper, but just need a small space to occupy. I use one almost every day to jot down the year-to-date returns for the S&P 500, the DJIA, and the NASDAQ. Random note: I used to have an obsession with the spiral, multi-colored kind.

AND,

5. BALL-POINT PEN. It speaks for itself. The number of things I use it for are endless. Oh, I love thee ball-point pen. Keep the ink flowing.

Whew!

It's over. Weird!!! Until today pharmacy school has always been something i was going to do or about to do or going into or in the future.....I think you get the point. No longer. Today was my first day of orientation with 123 new faces that I am going to spend the next four years of my life with. Honestly the entire day even as I'm writing this is incredibly surreal. (I like that word by the way) I mean I sat 4 hours in the same room in the same seat listening to the same woman and yet I still can't believe that it's happened. Please pray for me though. It's always hard to start somewhere new and have to start all over making friends but really exciting too because I'm really anxious to find my niche if you will. But anyways, I'm blurbing (word?) so till later

Woot! Woot!

Hoorah! I passed my Series 7 exam today!

It was pretty intense. I have been studying for this test since the beginning of June. Last week I had a cram course, and it really helped narrow things down, as well as gave me some good memory tricks. I arrived at the testing center at 8:30 am. I had to read a disclosure, get fingerprinted - via modern technology - and have my picture taken. The test was broken into two sections - 130 questions on the first section with 3 hours allotted, and same for the second section. I had a 45 minute break in between.

I prayed a lot before and during the exam. And, when it was all through, I prayed a prayer of thanksgiving. I shared the good news with my co-workers, and one of them said she had been praying for me.

It was matter-of-fact that I would celebrate tonight, and I did. Not as others may think, but to me, I celebrated. I went to church, and it was a thorough blessing.

Praise be to God for his wonderful blessings.

Bet you didn't know

My momma is famous for her biscuits. Really, famous. Now this fame may only spread throughout our very large family but she is indeed famous. Everyone in her family which includes 9 brothers and sisters and their families will stop everything they are doing if she says she will make her biscuits and even better her biscuits with chocolate. So this is what she is doing in the picture. Just recently we did have a gathering just for biscuits and chocolate. She made 4 or 5 pans of biscuits. The extras were made so that my aunts, who refuse to learn because they figure mom will always be around to make them I guess, wanted to freeze some for later. They are THAT good. So I hope that each and every one of you get to experience my momma's famous biscuits and chocolate, you will not be disappointed.

I left home to go home today

"You get a strange feeling when you're about to leave a place, like you'll not only miss the people that you love but you'll miss the person you are now at this time and this place, because you'll never be this way ever again." ~Azar Nafisi

Beware! You are approaching a "DUH" statement. Proceed with caution...

IT IS REALLY HARD TO SHOP FOR PANTS!


See, New York and Co. was having a really big pants sale the other day when I happened to be passing through the mall picking up a gift for Reya. Buy one pair, get one pair half off. Plus, lots of pants were on clearance! And, I can't pass looking at things on sale. So, I looked, because I really needed some dress pants. Now, they had lots of dress pants, but I couldn't find any that fit just right for me. Too long, too big, etc. You ladies know what I'm talking about. Nor could I find anything else. Anything else that I wanted to buy that day, anyways. They had some really cute skirts, but I wasn't in a skirt buying mood that day. For me, clothes shopping is all about the mood I'm in. Browsing & Buying mood, that is.

(P.S. It wasn't a day of serendipities.)

On the other hand, and a random side note, I am always in the mood to buy a book. My latest buys: (during a fun excursion to Books-A-Million):

From Beruit to Jerusalem by Thomas L. Friedman
A History of Pirates: Blood & Thunder on the High Seas by Nigel Cawthorne

Oh How Awesome It Has Been

The Roommates!! I love them
Did I every tell you I LOVE sno biz. We go all the time
We went to the beach for spring break. This is Josh telling us bible stories in a really funny british accent.
They came to Jasper, we shot potato guns on the farm.
Also Alabama game I believe. I just like this picture. Awesome kid that Delaney. He sold his Alabama ticket then dressed up like a member of the chorus and got into the game, FREE!
Byron's Tuesday! 5.00 for two barbeque sandwiches, a side and a drink. Did I mention Tommy Tuberville ate there all the time with us..yea he talked to us once.
Toomer's corner after the Alabama game.
MY FAVORITE!! WE beat Alabama every year I was here!! WAR EAGLE!!
The really scary abandoned factory they actually talked me into going into. Never again, can you tell i'm really freaked out here.
Fun in the Walmart freezer! Always entertaining
The big spoon had to make the cut! (all for you Queen)
The invention of titty ball.
We play dress up ALL the time! Yea we're cool like that.
I haven't paid for a single Chick-fil-A meal since this night. We camped out at the home of the chicken sandwich all night just for that reason. The boys did not allow for one moments sleep, they had Lou and I laughing all night long. Another good night because this is when I met one of my best friends Jeff. (he's in pharmacy too)
One of our many trips to Atlanta which is only 2hrs away from here. This is a really good pizza place called Fillini's. The guys were really mad at us because we beat them to the place when they were the ones with the directions.
Oh, the night of Wanda!! I really feel that you needed to be there..definitely one of my fondest memories and an absolutly hilarious night. Delaney and the 6 of us girls made up a little song about each other and Wanda that night. Good times..
ACF: My first real friends at Auburn, a HUGE part of my Auburn experience. Perry, the bearded one in the middle, is our campus minister and an amazing leader. So thankful for him.




7 days and counting.
It really is hard for me to believe. It seems like just yesterday, seriously, just yesterday that I was moving into a small confined space that was only made smaller by the body of my roommate and all of her stuff, meeting all my friends, having my first class of over a 100 people, taking my first college exam, using the ATM for the first time, buying my own grocieries with the help of self checkout(not yet before seen by me), eating alone in Foy, ordering delivery sandwiches, writing a check for 3.00 to buy icecream, going over the "Bump" on Wire Rd. at all hours of the night (its hard to time it let me tell ya) man the list goes on and on of first for me as I moved to Auburn. So since this amazing time for me that has taught me so much about myself, life, friends, and family is coming to an end, I will attempt to show you just "how awesome it has been"!

WARNING:

STUDYING FOR A BIG, BIG TEST COULD BE HAZARDOUS TO YOUR WALLET!!


Explanation: I am currently studying for the Series 7 test. It covers pretty much all investment material, and if I pass it, I can trade pretty much any security. I will be a General Securities Representative. So, this is a pretty important test. Now, aside from paying for the actual test, which my employer so graciously paid for, studying for this thing could be expensive. I don't mind studying at my apartment, but I definitely fall asleep faster. So, I like to study with background noise. One of my favorite places to study in Tuscaloosa was Crimson Cafe, a nice coffee shop with good desserts and good sandwiches. The coffee wasn't too bad either. :-) So, here in B'ham, I have found O'Henry's. A nice little coffee shop. Good background music. Good background conversations. And really, really good coffee. Now, I'm not normally a coffee person. I'm not. But, I have discovered lately that caramel lattes aren't the only thing I'll drink. I discovered I could really become addicted to plain ole Hazelnut coffee. And, that my friends, is where my pocketbook could be in trouble. Yes, I could make coffee at home, but I would miss out on that coffee shop atmosphere. And, that, too, is important. So, as long as I'm studying, I'll probably be frequenting some coffee shop on a regular basis.

Not to mention buying cinnamon gum, which I hear improves retention and helps people do better on tests. (Yes, people have actually studied that sort of thing. Crazy, huh?)

Prayer Request

Please pray for one of my friends from UA, Kristen Trotter. I was just browsing Facebook, and looking at friends who had updated their profiles. I discovered Kristen has been spending her summer in Beirut, Lebanon writing for The Daily Star newspaper. (She's quite the world traveler. She spent a semester in Egypt last year.) Anyways, she's sorta stuck there currently, until they evacuate the Americans, because Israel bombed the airport. She said she is safe and fine right now, unless Israel starts "carpet bombing residential areas."

Please pray for her safekeeping and safe return to the U.S.

"People get ready, Jesus is coming..."

As thing escalate in the Middle East, I am reminded:

"And, behold, I come quickly: and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be." (12)

"He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. A-men'. Even so, come, Lord Jesus." (20)

Revelation 22

Rafting Trip

This weekend some of my best friends and I went on a rafting trip. Unfortunately I don't have any actual rafting pictures because obviously my camera is not waterproof. So the group picture was taken that morning before rafting at the bear shelter where we stayed the night. It was so beautiful and there was an amazing view. You can see the lake behind us. After getting very little sleep at the bear shelter we headed for breakfast and rafting. We had three rafts with Riley, Lee and Brett as our captains. Riley being a certified guide so he let Caleb and Brian try at being captain for a while. So I was on Lee's raft with Natalie, Jim and Derrick. We were pretty much an awesome team once we all decided that if we actually listened to Lee we wouldn't get stuck on rocks or hit trees which we did once before. So all this to say, it was awesome and my friends are awesome and we're definitely doing it again!

More PICS! Some of my Favs:

Sister Sharon gracefully steps out of the kiddie pool after being politely placed inside. What a tradition. 11 years going strong.




Zanna feeds Ranger Owens.




The ladies in the kitchen (& Brother Talley) take a much deserved rest.




Okay...so this picture is just really cool. Looks like something from a magazine ad.




Wheelbarrow race!!




Girls dominate. Every time.




Brother Charles & Sister Hazel stroll down the road together. I love this picture!




BullyBall! It was very intense! And very dusty!




Elyowenay...looking very Irish in his green attire and holding gold pieces. Aye.


Table, you beat me to it. So, those are some of my favorite pics.

Words can't fully describe how much fun HH was, among other things. I was revived spiritually, physically, & mentally. I can still hear the music we sang in my head. I have to be very careful at work to keep my humming to a minimum. :-) Hope you are having a blessed week.